Top roll cradle



K. P. SWANSON TOP ROLL CRADLE July 12, 1960 Filed NOV. 19, 1958 INVENTOR. liefinefk 4Q 540d 5022 KENWAY, JENNEY, WI'ITER & HILDRETH United States Patent 2,944,300 TOP'ROLL CRADLE. Kenneth P. Swanson, 204 Chapel St., Abington, Mass. Filed Nov. 19, 19 s, Ser. No. 775,059 4 Claims. (Cl. 19- 131 This invention pertains to spinning apparatus and, more particularly, to a novel cradle serving to support and to position the middle top roll and the aprons associated with the middle top and bottom rolls of a spin- 7 ning frame. I

It has become customary in modernspinningto employ aprons upon the intermediate or middle rolls, the aprons and the middle top roll being supported (either come by means of a'cradle formed of a-resilient plasticv material having in its lower margins arcuate recesses for engagement with the middle bottom roll shaft and other arcuate recesses in the upper margins of the cradle serving as journals or supports for the middle top roll, the two recesses being connected by a relatively thin web adapted to hex as the cradle is forced upon the middle bottom roll shaft so that the cradle snaps into place and is securely anchored on the shaft. The lower recess of the cradle is formed as an arc of morethan 180,the radius being matched to thatof the middle bottom'roll shaft.

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the-cradle of the invention may be constructed of nylon or similar resilient plastic material which requires no lubrication and which does not wear appreciably itself or cause wear on the steel shaft on which it is mounted. Such a cradle is not only firmly mounted in position when it is originally installedfbut, because no wear takes place, its accurately determined position is not changed, and it is likewise not subject to vibratory movement characteristic of met-a1 cradles.

Another feature of the invention resides in an arrangement to vary the gap between aprons passing. about the middle rolls by providing means to mount U-shaped clips of different sizes to the cradle in a manner permitting the aprons associated with each roll to also pass'about each leg of a clip. 7 Y

These and other features of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which; 7

Fig. 1 is an oblique view of a cradle constructed in accordance with the invention,

Fig.2 is a view in side elevation of the cradle, and

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of a cradle mounted on a spinning frame together with the associated parts, some of which are shown in dotted lines.

Fig. 4 is a view in front elevation of the cradle, par ticularly illustrating the position of the U-clip with an- 2 other U-clip having a smaller gap shown by dotted lines, and f I i Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the cradle and U-clips of Fig. 4.

The cradle comprises essentially two identical substantially flat side plates 10 conveniently fabricated by the injection molding of nylon or'some other equivalent plastic material which is relatively resilient, hard, and characteri-zed by a rather smooth, waxy surface suitable for use as a bearing material in that no lubrication is required and minimum wear is involved. The two side members 10 are connected by a pair of stiff metal bars, 12 and 14 which serve to hold the sidemembers 10 rigidly in spaced parallel relation. To prevent the collection of lint, the body of the bottom bar 12 is relatively narrow in cross section and rounded at its upper edge as shown at 13 in Figs. 1 and 2.- I

Referring particularly now to Fig. 2 it will be seen that each side member includes a lower front portion comprising a downwardly extending peninsula 16 merging at its inner upper portion into an arcuate recess18.

The arc of the recess 18 exceeds and has a radius only a few thousandths of an inch greater than the radius of'the middle bottom roll shaft on which it is to be placed. The rear of the cradle accommodates the }bar 14 and is generally inclined upwardly, terminating in an upwardly projecting portion 24 forming one side of a U-shapedsocket or terminal 26, the other side of which is formed by an upstanding nose portion 22. The recesses 18 and 26 are thus joined by a relatively thin web 25. The thickness of the side member 10 and the dimension of the web 25 are such that the sides of the recess 18 may be flexed. At an intermediate portion of the front margin of the side member 10 there is a reentrant recess 28 which forms a lug 30.

When the cradle is to be installed, the first step ininvolves slipping an endless belt or apron 44 over the middle bottom roll shaft 40 and over an enlarged roll portion 42 conventionally formed integrally with the roll shaft. Then the cradle is placed over the roll shaft 40 so that the two side members span the apron 44 and the roll portion 42. Then the cradle is pressed downwardly so that the sides of therecess 18 open outwardly and then close so that the cradle is efiectively snapped into position firmly upon the shaft 40. This action is brought about by reason of the fact that the web 25 permits the flexing of the sides of the recess 18, and the secure anchoring of the cradle on the shaft 40 is brought about by reason of the fact that the arc of 'the recess exceeds 180. Consequently, the cradle is snugly and firmly locked in position on the middle bottom roll shaft 40 and it is not subject to. erratic or vibratory motion.

The next step in the installation of the cradle is to take a second endless belt or apron 54 together with a U-shaped clip 45 having legs 46 and 48. The legs of the clip are then inserted laterally into engagement with the lugs 30 on the sides of the cradle. The lower apron 44 is thus wrapped about the middle bottom roll 42and about the lower leg 46 of the clip.

Then a top roll 52 mounted on a shaft 50 is slipped through the'upper apron 54. The construction of the top roll forms no part of this invention, and it is sufficient to say that either the shaft, end caps, or gudgeons of a top roll 52 are received in the recesses 26 of the side plates of the cradle.

The upper apron 54 passes about the upper leg 48 of the U-shaped clip to complete an assembly similar to that of the lower belt system. It will be seen that the lower leg 46 is positively positioned with relation to the cradle by means of the recess 28 and the lug 30 while the upper leg 48 has only its inner edge bearing against Patented July 12, 1960 the face of the nose piece 22. This novel arrangement permits the substitution of U-shaped clips of different gaps so that height of the upper apron may be varied as desired.

This feature is best shown in Figs. 4 and 5 where the upper leg 48 is shown in one position by full lines and an upper leg 48' of asmaller clip 45"is indicated at a lower position by broken lines. The lower leg 46 will remain in the same position regardless of the size of the clip used.

In practice it has been found advantageous to incline the leading edges of the legs towards one another to a slight extent so that the area of contact with the aprons is limited to the rounded edges of the legs thereby reducing friction and wear.

Since the nature and construction of the cradle have been described in detail, as well as the manner of its use, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate its usefulness. 'For sake-of clarity there has been shown in dotted lines the back bottom roll shaft 60 and the associated back bottom roll 62, the back top roll shaft 70 with its top roll 72 as well as the front bottom roll shaft 80 and roll 82 and the front top roll shaft 90 with its roll 92.

It is further to be understood that one of the usual mechanisms is employed for applying the desired weighting to the top rolls both for bringing the sets of rolls into gripping engagement and for locking the top rolls into desired spaced relation.

It has been found that in addition to the desirable features of the snap-0n anchoring side members and the elimination of wear, the side members may be made of substantially thicker stock than is customarily employed for metal cradles. In consequence, when a cradle constructed in accordance with the invention is applied to a middle bottom roll shaft which has been worn by the friction from a metal cradle, the groove worn in the shaft will be substantially narrower than the width of the side members 10. Therefore, the worn portion is comfortably spanned by the surfaces of the recess 18, the result being that the worn shaft is perfectly capable of continued use over an indefinite period. That is exceedingly important from the standpoint of the'efiiciency of a spinning frame, since the long bottom roll shafts are very expensive in view of the amount of machining required and the close tolerances which must be adhered to. Obviously, therefore, the cradle of the invention is valuable not only for installation upon new equipment but also particularly valuable as a replacement for the cradles heretofore in general use.

Having thus described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination with a spinning frame including a bottom roll, a top ro'll cradle comprising a pair of side members of resilient plastic, means rigidly supporting said side members in spaced parallel relation, each side member being provided in its lower margin with an arcuate recess dimensioned to snap over and snugly engage the bottom roll, the upper margins of each of said members being provided-with an arcuate recess to receive one end of a top roll, the two recesses in each side member being separated by a relatively narrow web sufficiently flexible to permit temporary enlargement of the lower recesses when the cradle is being snapped over the bottom roll;

2. A top roll cradle according to claim 1 wherein said means rigidly supporting said side members comprises a pair of cross bars, at least one of which is rounded about its upper portion.

3. In combination with a spinning frame including a bottom roll having a shaft, a top roll cradle comprising a pair of side members of resilient plastic, means rigidly supporting said side members in spaced parallel relation, each side member being provided in its lower margin with an arcuate recess dimensioned to snap over and snugly engage the bottom roll shaft, the portion of said side members defining said arcuate recess being fashioned from relatively thick stock compared to the remainder of said side members, thereby to span a sub stantial portion of said bottom roll shaft when in engagement therewith.

4. In combination with a spinning frame including a bottom roll having a shaft, a top roll cradle comprising a pair of side members of resilient plastic, means rigidly supporting said side members in spaced parallel relation, each side member being provided in its lower margin with an arcuate recess dimensioned to snap over and snugly engage the bottom roll shaft, the portion defining said arcuate recess being fashioned from relatively thick stock'compared to the remainder of said side members to span a relatively wide portion of said bottom roll shaft when in engagement therewith, the upper margins of each of said members being provided with an arcuate recess to receive one end of a top roll, the two recesses in each side member being separated by a relatively narrow web sufiiciently flexible to permit temporary enlargement of the lower recesses when the cradle is being snapped over the bottom roll.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,075,571 Casablancas Mar. 30, 1937 2,618,024 Cabot d Nov. 18, 1952 2,677,858 Kuehn et a1. May 11, 1954 

